Beer and baseball

05:04 PM, April 26, 2013 |

They talk about boiled peanuts, hot dogs and pretzels at baseball games — but for me, none of them beat sipping a beer as I sit in the stands and second-guess a decision to bunt with two outs.

The vast majority of my baseball experiences — two boys who are baseball players from birth — are beer-free (you don’t hold a brew while coaching fourth-graders at first base).

Greenville Drive games, however, are a different story.

For the most part, you’re talking about your Budweiser, Yuengling or PBR pouring at Fluor Field.

But I have to say I was surprised at a recent game to see RJ Rockers’ “Son Of A Peach” on tap. Sublimely surprised.

For one, it wasn’t just a beer at a baseball game. It was a more … complex one. And it was local, tapping into that sense of identity that the Drive organization aims for.

RJ Rockers tells me SOAP will be on tap all summer long.

There’s more to come along those lines, such as respected California craft brewer Sierra Nevada, Drive general manager Mike deMaine says.

“You’ll start to see more specials on craft beers,” he says. “We’re getting more diverse in what we’re trying to be. It’s what the customers want.”

Craft specials likely will be a Tuesday and Saturday thing, deMaine says.

Then there’s always the conventional fare.

Fridays will feature specials on Budweiser products, he says.

And as always, Thursdays are $1 drink night served at the 500 Club, a section the Drive set up to provide a barlike atmosphere separate from the traditional ballpark experience (you can still buy your $1 beer and head back to your seat, as well, along with $1 soft drinks).

April is a five-Tuesday month, which means one extra week we had to wait for Thomas Creek Brewery’s monthly “cask night.”

The event, held the last Tuesday of each month, offers a chance for beer lovers to drink experimental brews from the wellspring. The brewers experiment with unconventional ingredients then need help drinking what’s left.

Tuesday will be Thomas Creek’s old standby Red River Falls Red with a twist Citra hops, bringing out floral flavors in keeping with spring, brand ambassador Weston Gaskill says. Cost is $5.

The so-called “pint bill” has undergone some preliminary changes as it makes its way through the General Assembly. The bill is an effort to allow breweries to sell beer on-site, up to 64 ounces per person per day.

Amendments to the bill could lower the limit to 48 ounces, one pint less, says Brook Bristow, a Greenville lawyer who authored the bill. The amendments also call for breweries to carry insurance for serving, unlike other establishments that serve alcohol, Bristow says.